It Never Changed
by winchestelena
Summary: AU/AH. Stefan and Elena are neighbor since they were kids. But because of something happened, Stefan went back to Italy. After 8 years, he's finally back and still admiring Elena. Does Elena know? Or does she feel the same about him? Well she has no idea about that.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : A new AU/AH story of Stefan and Elena. This story just came into my mind and I felt like have to write it. I hope it won't disappoint all of you. :)**

There she was. A tall beautiful girl, light-brown haired with warm chocolate eyes, was standing. She had the sweetest smell I've ever known with the cutest smile I've ever seen and the most amazing laugh I've ever heard. She was the queen of everything in my office. It was only my opinion. Oh her name? Elena Gilbert.

She was standing in front of her house, waiting for someone. I knew it because it was her regular schedule every 7.15 in the morning. Monday until Friday. No, she wasn't waiting for me. I secretly hoped it though. But she was waiting for her friend, Caroline Forbes, who also worked at the same office as me. And her.

I closed my window curtains before I took my suitcase and walked outside. She was still there, looking at her phone desperately. I looked at my watch. It's already 7.30 AM and Caroline hadn't come yet. If she wasn't going to show up in 10 more minutes, Elena would be late. And she always hated to come late. So after I put my suitcase at the back seat of my car, I literally ran a little towards her. She smiled and nodded politely as she looked at me.

"Morning, Salvatore." she greeted just in time I stopped in front of her.

"Morning, Gilbert." I said. God, her smile was so mesmerizing. "Why does Caroline not come yet? I've never seen you in here at 7…" I paused, looking at my watch to make it sure. "7.32 AM."

She chuckled. Why did she chuckle anyway? "I don't know. She didn't text me."

"Wanna go with me?"

"Ah no, Stefan, thanks. You're my boss, what would people say if they saw me coming with you?"

"Eh, Gilbert. I'm your boss in the office, but I'm offering a ride as a very old friend and neighbor. Is that too much to ask? And by the way, I don't care what would people say."

She chuckled again. Seriously, I thought I would go die just because of her cute chuckles. "If you insist." She finally agreed as she looked at her phone for the last time.

"Great. Wait here. I'm gonna go get my car." I smiled widely as I started to run to pick my car. I hopped in quickly and started the machine. Not wasting time, I drove my car to her house and stopped near her. I was about to go out and opened the door for her, but she already did it by herself. She was in a hurry. I could see it from her face. "You okay?"

"I'm gonna be late." she answered, wearing the safety belt quickly.

"Relax, Elena." I tried to calm her down. She turned her face and looked at me.

"You're the big boss, Stefan. It's easy for you to say."

"Exactly. It's because you're with the big boss, you're gonna be fine. So please relax." I explained, a bit joking. She didn't seem buy it though. I only shrugged and started drive my car, heading to our office.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was being polite and kind, as usual. He was being the Stefan who I knew so well. He was my neighbor since I was 5 years old. He was older two years than me. His family moved from Italy and lived in a house near Mrs. Poly's which was in front of mine. So our houses were close. Since the first time I met him, I already knew he was a sweet boy. He was so… gentle, even though he was still 7 years old. I didn't know why.

We went to the same elementary and junior high school. But we were separated when we were in senior high school. His parents had an accident which caused them dead and he with his brother, Damon Salvatore, decided to bury their parents in Italy. It was a hard time. I still could remember how depressed Stefan was and how hard Damon struggled to get rid of his sadness before they had flight to Italy. But after 8 years later, they were back.

Damon was the chief of Salvatore's luxury residence business. Stefan refused to join him because he didn't have passion in it. He chose to work in an international export-import company instead. And about the company, I owed him. He was the one who gave me a job in here. Without any tests, interviews or else. I instantly joined the company. I didn't know how he did that at first. But then I knew. This company was his uncle's. Zach Salvatore. I've once tried to pay him back, I didn't care how was I gonna do that. But he didn't let me do it. Sometimes it's just so annoying to have a very gentle and kind neighbor. But I was grateful to meet him and his family. Very much so.

Did I say Salvatore was a deadly rich family? Let me count. They had one luxury residence business, one international export-import company, one Asian restaurant and one Mall Of Salvatore. I hadn't come to those places yet, except the company of course. But as much as I heard, those places were like a heaven for rich people. Which I didn't doubt about that. Why have I not come to there yet? Because I wasn't rich. That's pretty clear. I couldn't spend my salary at those places because it wouldn't be enough. And if I was rich, I wouldn't have worked in other company right? I would have built my own company instead.

But there was one simple thing that made me love the Salvatore family. They had never been arrogant or selfish or negative. In fact, they were so kind, loving, caring and down to earth. They're the greatest ones in Mystic Falls but always being perfect role models. And honestly? I couldn't explain how happy I was to have them in my life. As neighbors. As friends. As a family.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I didn't know what Elena was thinking about. It's been 15 minutes and we hadn't talked yet. I wanted to start a conversation but she seemed too busy with her thoughts. So I backed off and only watched the road in front of me.

"Rain is gonna fall." Elena suddenly said. I cleared my throat and turned my face to see her.

"How do you know that?" I asked curiously.

She smiled before answered. "Just look at the sky, Stefan. The clouds are so dark which mean it'll be rain." I instantly looked at the sky and nodded. There were dark clouds yes. But I didn't notice it before she said that.

"And you always love rain." I said.

She leaned her head to the top of her seat and looked at me. I could see it from the corner of my eye. "Yes. Always have and always will."

I didn't know if rain could hear us or not because it started to send the droplets of water to my front window. It was slow at first then became heavy. I turned my face to see her and grinned. Then she gave me one of her beautiful smiles.

"Like I said." she said to the point.

"Exactly." I agreed as I turned the wipers and car lamps on because the road went dark. I stole a glance at her one more time and forced myself to focus on driving. It was hard to keep my eyes away from her. Why? I didn't know. She was just perfect in my eyes.

Elena was my favorite neighbor since my family and I moved here. She was 5 years old when I came and introduced myself. She was kind of a lovely girl. She had a baby brother, Jeremy, but they rarely played together. I didn't know whether it was because they were different from the gender or what. But they've never fought. I swore. And I envied them so much.

Her parents died because of a plane crash. They were heading to Miami for something to taken care of. She was only 11 years old and Jeremy was 9 years old when it happened. I remembered the day when I came in to her room and found her cried in her closet. I was speechless to see her like that. She had lost. When she saw me, she literally ran and hugged me so tight. I only could caress her hair and tried to calm her down. Which successfully failed.

Jenna, her aunt, came to the rescue as soon as Elena started to sob so hard. I couldn't make her stop crying and I felt bad for that. After the ceremony ended, I was looking for Elena again to see how she was doing. She was asleep in her bedroom with Jenna accompanied her. And when Jenna saw me, she waved her hand at me and invited me in. Once I stood near her, she grabbed my hand and asked me to not to leave Elena and Jeremy. They needed friends around more often since. I agreed automatically. And since that day, Elena, Jeremy, Damon and I were like a family. We went everywhere together. We celebrated each other's birthdays with surprises. We went to Elena's parents' graves every year and etc. And thankfully, my parents didn't forbid us to do all of stuffs. They cared about Elena and Jeremy too.

A few years later, it was my parents' turn which got the call from God. They had a car accident the night after they opened the Asian restaurant. Of course Damon and I had feeling lost terribly. I was 16 years old when it happened and got depressed. And Damon, even though he looked strong in the outside, but he was weak in the inside. After we went to Italy to bury my parents, my big family came to support us. I appreciated them so much. But there was only one person who did that unconditionally. Uncle Zach. He helped me and Damon to prepare everything. When we decided to stay in Italy for a while, he taken care everything for us, the house, school and college. And then he followed us to Mystic Falls after 8 years.

Now, Uncle Zach was the owner of the company where I and Elena worked. He didn't mind at all when I asked if there was a job vacancy and wanted to put someone I knew in. Elena went to college of administration so she would know everything about it. Uncle Zach was satisfied with her work after a few days she joined us. And I was glad. That meant Elena would stay long in this company. She had once tried to pay me because I gave her a position in here. But I refused. She didn't owe me anything though. I was happy to help her.

"Stefan?" she called me to out of my bubble thoughts.

"Yes?" I turned my face to see her.

"The office…"

The office?

"You missed it." she said as she pointed her forefinger to the back seat, signing it was behind us.

"Damn!" I cursed and looked at behind. I really missed it. How could I? You were so stupid, Stefan! I heard Elena laughed a little. Maybe that's because she saw my panic and stupid face at the same time. God kill me now!

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, smiling playfully. I searched a place to turn over then looked at her.

"Nothing." I simply answered. She didn't seem buy it though. She knew me very well so she wouldn't believe it. But she only smiled and nodded, accepting my answer without any questions. I turned over and went to my, uh our office and literally headed to the basement to park my car.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had parked his car not far from the elevator. After he unbuckled his safety belt, he hopped out and came around to my side to open my door. Always being a gentleman. I smiled at the thought. When he was walking in front of the car, I clearly could see how amazing and gorgeous he was. He wore a light blue shirt with rolled sleeve up to his arms and black pants with a black, nice belt. I've never wondered why girls in the office always did a fangirl thing about him every day.

As soon as he reached my side, he opened the door and I hopped out after unbuckled my safety belt. I thanked him and he only nodded once and smiled. He closed it then opened the back door to pick his suitcase. I waited for him to go to the elevator together. He locked the car then walked to my side and started walking with him.

"Thank you, Stefan." I said as we walked through the elevator.

"What for?" he asked, turning his face to look at me. I literally looked at him too.

"For the ride." I grinned. He chuckled and nodded.

"It's not a big deal, Elena."

"But I still have to thank you for that." I said again, pushing the up button as soon as we got near the elevator and stood face to face.

He laughed. "Okay, you're welcome." he answered as he a bit bent down to my face. He wasn't going to kiss me, no. He was playing at me. I wouldn't lie though that I automatically looked at his lips when he did that. I brought my eyes back to his and smiled. Finally, the elevator opened and we walked in. This time, he was the one who pushed the button. Floor 21st. Oh, we worked at the same floor, by the way. Coincidence? I didn't think so.

I exhaled slowly as the door closed. Today would be a new day. I had to be brave to face it. I was with Stefan anyway. But wait… That was the problem. The girls would hate me if they saw me coming with him. Unfortunately, I was sure there would be a drama and I had to get ready for that. I let out another sigh and leaned back to the elevator.

This was another disadvantage of having a gorgeous boss, old friend and neighbor at the same time.

**A/N : So what do you think? Should I continue this story? Please let me know with reviews or even tweets winchestelena.**

** Thank you for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Awh thank you so much for the follows, favs, reviews, supports and even likes for this story! Those mean the world to me and I appreciate them so much. You guys are amazing! :')**

** Anyway I'm not going to leave this story as it is. But I still need, hope and want your support for me to continue. So please let me know if you have some critics or suggestions, you can send PM, review or tweet to _winchestelena_. You guys inspire me! And again, thank you for reading! :D**

I could see Elena leaned back to the elevator and sighed slowly. Why, I didn't know. Were we late? I checked my watch and it said 7.55 AM. Not quite late. Something was bothering her, I knew it. I stepped back a little and faced her. "You okay?"

She turned her face to look at me and shook her head. "No. I'm gonna die as soon as those doors open." she said weakly, pointing the elevator doors. I was shocked to hear her words.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked, completely had no clue.

She sighed, stood steady and crossed her arms over her chest. "You just don't realize that you have fan girls, do you Mr. Big Boss?"

My eyes went wider as I heard that. "Me? Fan girls?"

She rolled eyes and nodded. "Gosh, Stefan. All of these girls in the office are your fans. They talk about you every day and always want to do everything with you. Even just use the same elevator."

I smiled. "Are you one of them?"

"These girls? Pretty much no."

"But you said 'all of these girls in the office'." I said, using my hand to make a quote sign when I said that. I was hoping she was one of them to be honest.

"'All of these girls in the office' except me." she said back, copying me with making a quote sign with her hands.

"Ouch." I was a bit disappointed yes, but I didn't show it. I didn't _want_ to show it. I just smiled and caressed her hair instead. She didn't mind though. She always loved when I did that to her hair, just like what she claimed when we're kids. But that precious time didn't last long. The elevator doors opened at floor 9th. I literally pulled my hand from Elena's hair and let it fall to my side. She sighed again and moved a little, trying to not look too close to me. She was always trying to be professional at the office. Whereas I thought it was ridiculous for both of us.

**XXXXX**

I moved a little from Stefan as people walked in. I didn't want people to see me and Stefan too close to each other. I knew it was wrong, though we were old friends and neighbor. But he's my boss in here so I had to keep being polite. And I was right to do that. Because some of girls who had an unhealthy obsession about Stefan came in as they talked to each other. I looked at Stefan who already looked at his feet, trying to not be seen. It was impossible though because he was the most charming man on the elevator. Everyone would recognize him easily.

One of the girls finally saw him as she looked behind her. She giggled then told her friends who literally and openly looked at Stefan. I didn't know if Stefan realized that or not but he kept lowered his head. I rolled my eyes as I saw the girls' reaction. I know he's extremely gorgeous but no need to be like that right? Or was it because I got used to see his face since we're kids so I could say a thing like that?

The elevator stopped again at 17th and all of the people walked out, except me and Stefan of course. The girl who had seen Stefan first hesitated, clearly looking doubt to walk out or not. But her friends dragged her out quickly. Maybe they're embarrassed by their friend's act too. I didn't know. As soon as the doors closed again, Stefan finally lifted his head.

"Your neck hurts?" I asked, feeling pity for him. It wasn't my fault though; it was his habit to hide his face in front of people.

"Yeah, a little." he said, caressing the back of his neck. I smiled lightly and stepped closer to him again, replacing his hand with mine to massage it a little. "That feels good." he added as he closed his eyes.

"You shouldn't have to lower your head in front of people, you know."

"Yeah but it happened automatically."

"You're always doing that since you're a kid." I said again, smiling as I remembering our old memories. "Such a shy boy."

He just laughed lightly. But then I had to stop massaging the back of his neck because the elevator had finally stopped at 21st. I saw him opened his eyes and said, "We're already here."

I sighed and let my hand fall to my side. "Yeah." I simply answered. I started to walk out of the elevator without waiting for him. I had to keep the distance. Or too much distance? I looked behind and saw him followed me, walking slowly. But I was glad he didn't seem mad because of my manners. Before I reached my table, I turned around to face him and thanked him again for the ride this morning.

"Okay." he nodded. And when I was about to walk again, he called. "Hey Elena."

"Yeah?" I answered, stopping my feet.

"I'm glad you didn't die."

I was confused at first then I remembered. "The girls were being nice today. Or it was just too criminal to kill me in front of you." I joked. Which made him shook his head but laughed as he heard that. "Have a good day, Mr. Salvatore." I said, nodding once then made my steps to my table, leaving him behind for real now.

**XXXXX**

"I saw you." I heard someone said as soon as I walked into my room.

"Saw me what?" I asked, letting my lips curving into smile.

"You're with Miss Gilbert this morning, Sir. Don't you try to deny it." she said again, playfully pointing her finger to me. I laughed a little as I put my suitcase on the small table and leaned some there.

"I wouldn't deny it." I answered, still smiling. I was happy after all.

"I can see that you're happy." she smiled widely. "So anything happened between you and her on the elevator?"

I stood a little and walked towards her. "You should go to work, Lexi. Thank you for cleaning my room." I said as I grabbed her shoulder, turned her around then a bit pushed her out of my room.

She turned her face a little to see my face then laughed. "Then I suppose there was something happened."

"Nothing happened." I released her shoulder then crossed my arms over my chest. "Go to work."

She turned around fully to see me again and stood steady, placing her hand on her forehead as she gave a respect position to me. "Will do, Sir." She was walking out of my room but then stopped. "Oh I made you coffee and put it on your table, extremely hot, with no sugar but milk and… Love from Elena." she winked as she smiled playfully and walked towards her table near my room. I shook my head as I thought about what she said before. Love from Elena? Only Lexi Branson who could say that to me.

Lexi was my incredible secretary. She knew everything about this company. Even about my feeling for Elena. She knew how much I admired her, how much she made me happy and etc. We're not friends before she joined the company. Which was weird for an outsider (from my life) like her, but she already knew everything about me. And I've never told anyone about my secrets except to her. I didn't know how it happened, but she made me feel okay to tell her my stories. Was it because of she was friendly? Maybe. She was way too friendly to be honest.

Technically, she didn't know about Elena from me, myself. She was cleaning my room in one morning before I arrived when she found that out. The night before, I wrote something about me and Elena when we're kids on a paper. I was so stupid to not to write it on my journal. Suddenly Uncle Zach called me, telling me to come home soon because my other family was coming. I went home quickly without cleared my table, or at least hid the paper. And yeah, the next morning after I arrived she started to tease me until my face was all red. But I literally went relief when she promised me to not tell anyone. Even though I was doubt about her since she's a woman who actually loved to have gossips with other women. But I didn't know, I just believed her.

Because she was trustworthy too. That's what I was sure about since she started to work here 2 years ago and it's long enough to know her well. Not only because she was friendly, she was kind and open-minded too. Yet she was ambitious and always a bit forced herself to be a perfectionist, which I thought she shouldn't have done that.

I came back to the reality as I sat on my chair and opened the very top drawer on the table. Then I pulled one of my journals out, the one with my 'admiring Elena' stories and began to reread it for millionth times.

**XXXXX**

"Please forgive me? Please please please?" Caroline begged. It's been 10 minutes since she started to apologize. I didn't mean to make her begged to me like that, but she just couldn't stop talking.

"You know what, Care? Stefan gave me a ride and…" I tried to explain the situation to her but she quickly cut me off.

"Stefan? The big boss? Wow, you're so lucky!" she said, somewhat excited.

"Caroline!" I hissed, bringing my hand to cover her mouth, looking around to make sure no one heard. The last thing I wanted was people knew about this. She tried to say something but all I heard was 'mmph' and 'huh' because her mouth still got covered. "Say that slowly, Care. No need to say out loud okay?" I asked. She only nodded and I released her.

"You're so mean." she said, pretending to be mad.

"I just don't want people to know about this."

"Why don't you?"

"Stefan's fans will kill me if they know about this."

"But come on, Elena! It's Stefan we're talking about!"

I sent her a death look and she went quite. "Not now, not ever, Care."

"But…" she was still trying to beat me. I just glared at her again and it worked; her face went soft.

"Okay okay." she said as she raised her both hands, giving up.

"Good." I said, trying to get my focus back on my work.

"But do you forgive me?" she asked again and sighed, crossing her arms over her chest nervously. "I told you, Elena. I had a very good night with Tyler last night. And I had a hangover this morning. So…"

I exhaled. "Fine. But for next time, if you have a plan to spend your night with Tyler, just please let me know okay? So I can wake up earlier and go to work by bus." I told her, turning my face again to look at her.

"Deal." Caroline smiled. "Thank you, Elena." she bent down and hugged me. I kissed her cheek before pulled away, indicating that I forgave her. She was my good friend here. I just couldn't be mad at her for long. "Uh and about Stefan…" she started, causing me a bit panic and looking around again.

"What?" I whispered.

"What do you feel about him?"

**XXXXX**

_May 4th, 2010…_

_I looked around as I exited the international departure door. I was eagerly searching for her sign. Then I saw there she was, holding a big paper named 'S and D Salvatore' on it and alternately looking behind the door and her phone with her depressed face. She didn't see me at all although I wasn't too far from her eyes' direction. I looked behind, seeing Damon walked slowly. So I made my way to Elena instead and smiled widely as soon as she saw me. _

_She ran around the cage and hugged me, causing me almost lost my balance. "Stefan, you're here!" I released my bag and hugged her tightly._

"_I'm here." I whispered to her ear._

_She giggled then pulled away. "Oh my, Stefan. Look at you! Deadly gorgeous." she commended as she held my cheeks. They were burning in all of sudden but I was sure she didn't realize that. "It's been 8 years and you're finally back!" she said again, couldn't hold her excitement to see me again. Or at least, that was what I saw. "I missed you."_

_I chuckled and caressed her hair. "I missed you too, Elena. And I'm glad that I'm coming home." she pulled me to her again, giving me another tight hug. "And you know what?" I asked._

"_What?" she said, slowly buried her face into my shoulder._

"_You're beautiful, more than ever." I said and got a playfully slap on my back as a reward from her. I buried my face into her hair and chuckled. "I'm just happy to see you again."_

_She pulled away and let her tears fell down onto her cheeks as she looked at me. I instantly ran my hands to her cheeks to wipe her tears off._

"_Don't cry." I whispered. I was always weak to see girls cry. I was worst with it._

"_What did you do to this beautiful young woman?" Damon suddenly asked from behind. Elena looked at him and smiled weakly. "Come here you little sister." he added, opening his arms to accept his hug. She literally ran to him and hugged him too, just the way she did that to me. _

_As Damon and Elena had a little reunion, I took my bag again and stepped back a little as I turned around, trying to remember what Mystic Falls' air felt like._

_Finally, I was home again._

**A/N : I know it wasn't my best to write. But please let me know what you think about it! Do you have any suggestions too? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N : Thank you all for the positive feedbacks! I appreciated them very much. And I apologize for the long wait, I've been busy with college. If you have something on your mind about this story, as always you can review, send me PM or tweet to _winchestelena. _Hope you can enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading! :)**

"What do I feel? What are you talking about?" I asked her, not sure how to react. Quite truthfully, I was nervous. I saw she sighed as she stood steady.

"Don't pretend, Elena. I know you too damn well to not see your nervousness." she walked around and sat an empty chair beside me. "You and Stefan knew each other since you both were kids, didn't you?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, so?"

"It's not impossible to fall in love with your old friend and neighbor, you know?" she shrugged, a bit teasing me but I couldn't see that clearly. Her act was good.

"Not all of old friends and neighbors become a couple, Care." I said, looking at her seriously.

"Yes, I noticed that." she agreed. "But every time I see you and him, you look somewhat happy. He does too." she said her argument.

"That's because I'm happy to talk with him. And he, hopefully, feels the same as me. He's my old friend, remember?"

"Not that kind of happiness that I see though." she smirked. "Okay then, hope you'll realize that you have something more for him than you know." she added as she stood. "See you later." she waved her hand once then walked towards the elevator. She worked at 18th; different floor, different kind of job. I just looked at her until she lost from my sight.

I leaned my back to my chair as I thought about what she just said.

_Do I feel something more about him?_

**XXXXX**

"Mr. Salvatore, your brother is here." Lexi said through the phone. I quickly accepted it and told her to let Damon in. I was signing a lot of papers when he knocked my door twice then opened it.

"Busy?" he asked as he walked in through to a chair in front of me. I lifted my head to see him and nodded.

"Kinda." I answered, lowering my head again to read another paper before signed it. "What happens?" I heard Damon scoffed as he sat in front of me. I looked at him again and furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

"Does it mean that I can't be here if something doesn't happen?" he asked. "Sucks."

I chuckled and leaned back to my chair. "If nothing happens, then why are you here? As much as I know, you're a very busy man that even wouldn't eat if your girlfriend didn't cook for you."

This time Damon was the one who chuckled. He crossed his arms over his chest and added, "I am the very busy man with the most gorgeous face."

I rolled my eyes and sat steady to continue my work. "Want to drink something?" I finally asked. Being polite was always been my number one of attitude.

"No thanks. I just stopped by to say something."

"Why would you not just call me?"

"Seriously Stef, is it a really bad thing that I wanted to see how's my brother when he's working? I even secretly hoped you would invite a sexy woman to humor you here."

"Ha-ha. You're not even funny." I said sarcastically. A sexy woman to humor me? Please. If I could choose, I'd rather call Elena and tell her to stay in here until we had to go home. Or even had… Uh no. I shook my head as soon as I realized that Damon was still in front of me. "What's the news about anyway?" I asked again, signing the last paper then closed the file. Everything was done.

"Mr. Lockwood invited me, well us, Salvatore to come to the antique auction party this weekend. And I can't come because I already have an appointment with an investor from Japan. Can you please come for me?"

I sighed and leaned back again. "Why me?"

"Because you're still a Salvatore, Stefan. And you knew that he was Dad's good friend."

I took a few seconds to think then eventually gave up. "Fine. I'll come. Thank you for putting me into my personal hell, Damon."

He shrugged and smiled widely. "It's not my fault that you hate parties and dances." He clapped his hands once then stood. "Okay, problem solved. I should go back to my office." he said, looking at his watch. I stood as well and walked behind him towards the door. At the time he almost opened the door, he turned around and looked me in the eye. "Don't forget to bring a date." he winked and walked out of my room before I could say anything more.

I closed the door, walked towards my couch and sat there. Bring a date? Why would people need to bring a date to a party? Should people who attend a party go dance with their dates? I rubbed my forehead, having no idea who I would ask to go and it's stressing the hell out of me. Then suddenly someone knocked my door. "Come in." I said, standing up and walking to my desk again. It's Uncle Zach.

"Oh Uncle Zach, what happens? Please have a seat." I asked as I pointed the couch. I walked back to there and sat in front of him. His face was unreadable. "Is there any problems?" He rarely came here, that's why I asked him that.

"Did Damon come here?" he asked to the point. Did Damon not come to his office?

"Yes, he just left. Why? Did he not come to you?"

"No, he was in hurry when I called him to stop by to my room."

"Oh."

"Did he tell you about the Lockwood's party?"

I nodded. Actually that's what he wanted to talk about. Party. Yay. "I will come for him."

"Good. It will be held at 6 PM this Sunday. Don't be late for the opening, Stef. And say hello to Lockwood family for me, will you?"

"Yes, I will."

"Okay then, I just wanted to say that." he said as he stood. I looked at him disbelief. First Damon, and now Uncle Zach who was wasting his time to come to my room just for "a party". Why would they not just call me?

"Okay." I nodded and followed him behind. But suddenly he stopped and turned around to look at me. It was the same scene as Damon and me a few moments ago. "What, are you gonna say that I should bring a date?"

He widened his eyes, completely shocked that I asked him that. And then he laughed. Great. "That's your problem, kid. I just wanted to remind you that we'll have an important meeting this afternoon. Don't forget to tell all of your employees." he paused, thinking what more to say. "But about a date, you should consider it. It'd be boring if you went there alone." he laughed again and patted my shoulder once.

I groaned then opened the door for him. "Fine, Boss. I'll do everything you say." He was still laughing when he went out of my room. I couldn't say anything and just shook my head instead. My uncle was unbelievable. Then I closed the door again and went to my desk. I had to prepare everything for the meeting.

"Lexi, we'll have an important meeting this afternoon, start at 2 PM. Please tell the others to come and prepare everything." I commanded her from the phone.

"Yes, Sir." she answered and I ended the call.

I sighed and leaned back to my chair. Today was still long enough to end.

**XXXXX**

Finally the meeting was over. I looked at my watch and it said 6.45 PM. Wait, what?

"That was the longest meeting I've ever had." I heard someone said that and sighed heavily. I looked at my left side and found Derek Cane was beside me. He looked at me too and smiled.

"Oh you just don't know about it yet." I answered, hanging the sentence and kept walking. I could see he was shocked when he heard my words. He pulled my arm to stop and stood in front of him.

"What do you mean with just don't know about it yet, Miss Gilbert?" he asked, completely not understand. Or I could say, he was like being terrorized. I laughed and politely yanked my arm from his hand. He literally let me do it and apologized.

"It's your first meeting, wasn't it? FYI, today was short. I've had an 8 hours meeting non-stop until midnight and you have no idea how much it stressing me." I explained and started to walk again. He ran a little to follow me.

"What the hell did you do while the meeting? Damn." he asked again.

"Much listening and less talking." I simply answered. He sighed again but didn't say anything more. I kept walking to my desk and put my files on it once I got there. He was still following me and stopped not far from me. I turned around to look at him and asked, "Do you need something?"

He placed his hand behind his neck and smiled nervously. "Uh I just wanted to say if you need a ride to go home, I'm allowed to do it."

I raised an eyebrow and smiled. "No thanks. My friend is waiting for me."

"Ah okay. Maybe next time." he said and stepped back. "Goodnight, Miss Gilbert." he added then turned around to go to his place. I sighed and got myself ready to go home. Caroline was waiting for me on the parking lot.

**ooo**

"I'm home!" I yelled, telling whoever in the house that I was coming. I put my shoes on the shoes little board and walked towards the kitchen because I smelled something delicious from there. As soon as I walked into the kitchen, I saw Jenna was standing in front of the stove, cooking something.

"Mmm smells delicious." I said as I sat on the bar chair near her and grabbed an apple to be played. She turned around and smiled.

"Good evening to you too, Miss." she teased. I chuckled and stood to walk towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good evening, Jenna." I smiled. "What are you cooking?"

"Your favorite."

"Chicken parmesan?" I asked as my eyes got widened, feeling excited in all of sudden. "I'm gonna take a quick shower and then eat." I informed her and began to run to the stairs.

"Be careful!" I heard Jenna said it but I didn't care. I was too starving and really wanted to take a shower so that I could eat very soon. I walked into my room and literally went to the bathroom.

**ooo**

"Just in time." Jenna said as she saw me (again) walked into the kitchen. I had my pajamas on but still wearing a towel on my head to cover my wet hairs.

"Good. Because I'm starving." I answered, grinning and walking towards the table. "Ah yes." I forgot to take glasses and mineral water for both of us. Jenna smiled as she set the table up. She knew that one was my job. Took glasses, I meant. Once everything was ready, we both took a seat and began to eat.

"Mhm, this is so good." I complimented, taking another bite.

"Is it because you're too starving or my cooking is good?" Jenna asked jokingly.

"Both." I said. "I'd need to learn how to cook this from you someday."

"Good plan. I'm starting to worry that you wouldn't want to learn how to cook and you'd kill your husband with your flaw on cooking."

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at her eyes closely. "Am I that bad?" I asked, half pouting. "I wouldn't want to kill my husband though." I added. Jenna laughed and placed her hand on her cheek in a cute way.

"I believe you. Tell me whenever you want to start the lesson." she said and winked at me. I grinned again and nodded.

"Will do."

"Ah Elena." she called before I took another bite of my food.

"Yeah?"

"Lockwood family invited us to the antique auction party this Sunday."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. And too bad that I can't come because I have to check on Jeremy, I promised him." she said. "Will you come for me; I mean for the Gilbert family, please?" she asked.

I sighed and nodded. "Sure, I'll come."

"Good." she smiled. "And now you have to think about your date for the party."

Oh no. "Why do I need to find a date?"

"Because there'll be a dance floor and you'd regret it if you didn't step your feet there."

I rolled my eyes and said, "You know, Jenna. I've never regretted to not dance on a party."

"Believe me, girl. This time you'd regret it. Just think about your date okay? Or should I help?" she asked again, a bit teasing me. I stood up, bringing my plate and glass and putting it on the sink.

"No, thank you. I can think about it by myself."

"Great." she answered as she walked towards the same direction as me. I moved a little and watched her wash the dishes.

"I have works to do. See you tomorrow, Jenna. Love you." I said, kissing her cheek again and walking slowly to the stairs. Jenna said something but I didn't hear clearly so I didn't answer that. _Sorry Jenna I had a busy mind right now._

I walked to my room, sat on my chair in front of the desk and turned my laptop on. I kept thinking about my "date" for the party but I couldn't find the right one. It didn't feel right.

"Focus Elena, you have works to do now." I said to myself. "You can think about the date later." I took a deep breath then released it slowly and began to work to get rid of my "date" thoughts. It did suck anyway.

**XXXXX**

Until I came home, I still didn't know who I would ask to go to the party. Part of it, I didn't care but had to do it. And another part was I didn't know much about the girls who would love to go to an auction party. I let myself groaned as I untied my tie and leaned back on the couch. This thought made me tired.

Ring. Ring.

Who was calling?

Ring. Ring. I searched for my phone in my briefcase and saw someone's name popped on the screen. Elena.

"Hello?" I said as soon as I accepted the call.

"Stefan?"

"No, this is Damon." I lied. And then she went silent in an awkward way. "Of course this is Stefan, Elena. Who else?" I finally claimed. I heard she sighed a little, indicating that she was relief. "What happens?"

"Are you already at home?"

"I just came. Why?"

"May I come to your house now? Or are you too tired to have a guest?"

"No no no. That's fine." I quickly answered. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Okay, thanks."

"Yeah." and we ended the call. I literally ran to the nearest bathroom to wash my face and rubbed my neck with a wet towel to make me look fresh. Or yeah, I was trying at least. Not too long, I heard someone rang the bell. That should be Elena.

I ran back towards the door and opened it. And there she was, Elena, only with her pajamas and a cardigan. I didn't care what people might think about her but for me, she's cute.

"Come on in." I said, stepping back a little to let her in. Once she entered my house, I closed the door and led her to the living room and sat on the couch. "Anything you want to drink?" I asked as I sat in front of her.

"Don't be too formal, Stefan." she said as she smiled. I smiled back and put my hands on the armrest of the couch.

"So what does bring you here?"

"I wanna ask you something."

"Shoot it."

"Did you get an invitation from Lockwood?"

"For antique auction party? I did. You?" God damn! Why did I not remember that her family was one of Lockwood's old friends? I should've thought about her the first moment Damon told me to bring a date!

"So did I." she paused. "Uh, do you already have someone to go there?"

"A date do you mean?" I shot her. She looked surprise and quickly changed her position a bit.

"Yes, a date." she answered as she blushed.

"Hmm.." I playfully thought about her question. She looked at me nervously. And then I shook my head. "No, I don't have a date. Yet." I said. I could see she was smiling when she heard that.

"Can you please help me, Stefan?"

"What kind of help?"

"Be my date for the party, please. I just don't want to come by myself." she told me. I practically laughed and covered my face with my hands. "Why are you laughing?" she asked again, but I could imagine she was smiling too.

"I didn't expect you would ask me that, that's all." I answered as I released my hand from my face and looked at her. "Yes, I'd love to be your date, Elena." I added as soon as I calmed down.

She blushed again and nodded. "Oh God thank you so much!" she stood to give me a hug. I didn't know why but she looked way too happy that I agreed to help her. Then I hugged her back and whispered 'you're welcome' to her. She pulled away and stood steady. "I should go home now. You must be tired and I still have works to do." she said as she looked at the door. "Thanks again Stefan."

I stood as well and followed her walking towards my door. "No problem, Elena. I have to say thanks to you too since you solved the same problem for me."

"What, about a date?" she turned around as she asked.

I sighed. "Yeah, Damon told me that I should bring a date and I didn't know who I would ask to go until you came."

"You're lucky I came to you." she said, smiling even wider than before.

I laughed and nodded. "Pretty much." I answered, opening the door for her and accompanied her until she had to across the street. She waved her hand before she went to her house and walked into it. I put my hands on my pants pocket and stood there for a little while. Then I turned around to go back to my house.

Finally, my date problem was solved. Big thanks to E.

**A/N : Please let me know what did you think about it! Thank you very much. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N : I started to worry that you guys didn't like the last chapter since I didn't get many reviews. Please let me know what you think about this story. Thank you very much for reading and the participations! :)**

"Can you say the name of your date again?"

I rolled my eyes as I continued my previous work. "Stefan, Care."

She clapped her hands twice and squealed. "Ha! I love that idea. Who did ask first, you or him?" she questioned as she placed her chin on her hands. She was standing in front of my barrier desk.

"Is that important?"

"Oh absolutely." she answered and nodded, smiling as wider as ever.

I stopped doing my work and looked at her intensely. "Me." I answered. "Satisfy now?"

She squealed louder and this time I had to shush her. She closed her mouth quickly and looked around. After she was sure that no one heard her, she answered, "I am very much satisfied." she giggled. "So does it mean that you claim that you have something more for him?"

I groaned and laid my eyes back on my paper. "It's not like that, Caroline."

"Why not?"

I sighed and looked at her again. "Don't you have works to do?"

"It can wait." she answered easily. "Tell me the details first."

"Later." I said, standing up from my chair and cleaning the rest of the papers. "Now if you excuse me, I have to copy these files." I continued. I couldn't stand her questions about Stefan right now. Her curiousness was too much.

I could hear a sigh then saw she stood steady. "Okay then. But don't forget to tell me the details." she reminded. I only nodded and smiled slightly. "Bye Elena." she said again, turning around and walking towards the elevator. After she lost from my sight, I went to the photocopy room and copied all the files on my hand. Finally I could concentrate for works.

**XXXXX**

"_Can you please help me, Stefan?"_

"_What kind of help?"_

"_Be my date for the party, please."_

"Be my date for the party, please." I repeated her words and chuckled to myself. "A date. Be my date." I repeated it again. I did know that I grinned like an idiot but I was too happy. This was stupid, I really knew. But again, uh, I couldn't stop it.

"'Be my date?'" suddenly I heard someone said that. I quickly turned my chair around and saw the voice owner. She smiled when she saw me panic. "Hi boss."

I exhaled deeply and shook my head. "Oh God, Lexi!"

"Sorry, I knocked your door a few times but you didn't answer so…"

"That's okay." I cut her words. I must be buried too deep on my own thoughts. "You bring the report?"

She nodded then made a few steps, stopping in front of my desk and handing me the folder. I cleared my throat once as I read the papers in it. I was trying to calm myself down from the surprise and unfortunately my self-esteem was dropping drastically at the moment. "Okay, this project is fine." I said calmly, grabbing my pen then signing the last 3 papers. "Give it to the director." I added as I handed the folder back to her.

She nodded again then smiled with a tease manner. "What did you mean with "be my date" anyway?" she asked, raising one of her eyebrows playfully. "Did you ask me or…?"

"Not your concern." I said, turning my chair around again so she couldn't see my face. I realized that my face was burning.

"You're blushing." she commented, failing to hide her laughter.

"Lexi." I warned, stopping her before she got me too embarrassed.

"Fine, Boss. I'm just asking." she gave up and tried to stop her laughter. "I'll give this to the director now. Excuse me." she said, successfully making noise by her heels as she walking out of my room. Once I heard she closed the door, I exhaled again.

That was close.

**XXXXX**

"So that's the details." I said, closing last night's story that happened between me and Stefan. I drank my lemon tea and stared at Caroline's expression. I couldn't lie that she looked so happy. Why would she that happy anyway?

"OMG Elena. Did you realize how lucky you are to have him as your date?" she asked eagerly. She was kind of hyperbole.

"Um… No?" I answered uncertainly. "I mean I didn't know who I would ask; and even, underlined, I didn't want to go to the party. But Jenna made me promise her so I had to find someone. And all I could think about was Stefan." I explained slowly as I put my glass on the table again and grabbed my chips to be eaten.

"So you're not aware." she concluded and her smile faded.

"Maybe no." I simply answered and shrugged. "Stefan is my old friend and you know that."

She leaned back on her chair and sighed disappointedly. "I know, Elena. But you seriously have to do something to make your heart more sensitive."

I grabbed another chips and ate them. "Why?"

She scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "See? You don't even get my point here."

"Then you have to re-explain it to me."

She shook her head. "Nah, it'll take much time. And now…" she hung, moving a little to make herself more comfortable. "All you have to do is- think about the dress." she continued as she smirked.

"Dress?"

"Yes. A dress that you'll wear on this Sunday."

"Oh no…"

She furrowed her eyebrows when she heard that. "I'm going to a boutique tomorrow night. You should come with me."

"Don't you have many dresses? Mind if I borrow one of yours?"

"Yes, I do mind." she quickly answered. She wouldn't let me have an excuse to not to go with her tomorrow.

I sighed heavily then she smirked again. Didn't mean that I didn't respect her but she was total whenever she was up for something. And I thought it wasn't _that _good sometimes. Or was it just me? "Fine. I'll go with you."

"You better." she said, smirking wider. She looked at her watch and said, "Oops 8 already. We should go home now."

I looked at my watch too and nodded. "Yeah, we should." I raised my hand at a waitress and asked for our bill. After we paid, we walked out of the Grill and went home.

Tomorrow would be a longer day than today.

Shopping. Yay.

**OOO**

"Jenna, I'm home!"

"Dinner, Princess!" I heard she yelled back from the kitchen. I could smell something delicious then realized that probably was from her food. After I put my coat on the hanger near the door, I walked towards the kitchen then saw her ate on the table while doing her work on her laptop. "Hey." she greeted when she turned her face to look at me. I nodded, still walking towards her and finally stopped beside her.

"New project?" I asked as I looked at the monitor. She only nodded then had another bite of her food. I took a seat near her, grabbing an apple from the fruit plate as I kept watching her working. Jenna was a member of team creative of an event organizer for over 3 years. She had handled so many events in this city, including the popular annual rock music events.

"What's the upcoming event?" I asked, trying to steal a look at her monitor once again.

"New Year's Eve."

"New Year's Eve?"

"Uh-huh. You know.. Music. Fireworks. Get drunk." I chuckled at her last point. It was true though. "Yep, all done." she said, smiling proudly as she turning off the laptop then closing it. "How about your date for the party anyway?" she suddenly asked as she throwing her eyes from her laptop to my face. I spontaneously cleared my throat, acting nervously.

"Mmm…"

"What mmm?" she asked again, teasing me.

"I'll go with Stefan." I told her. I didn't know why but I was feeling embarrassed. Whereas she knew that he was my old friend. I looked at her again who was still smiling.

"Well I just knew you would go with him." she said, standing from her chair then grabbing the dishes on the table to put them on the sink.

"Yeah, how so?" I asked curiously.

She turned around then faced me again. "Oh please Elena." she said as she rolled her eyes. "You just can't choose another man but him. I just know it." she shrugged. I just grinned and nodded. Truth to be told, I've never thought about choosing another man. Maybe I just didn't realize that I always put Stefan as my priority. But yeah, I didn't know. He was just a safe choice.

I exhaled quietly then stood, planning to take a shower before check my e-mails then go to sleep. I kissed Jenna's cheek after said goodnight to her and went upstairs. I had to save my energy before Caroline dragged me to the boutique she would go to tomorrow though. Finally I reached my room and walked in as I threw my blazer to the corner of it. Then I laid my back on the bed, sighing heavily as I thought about those things.

Boutique.

Dress.

Party.

_Stefan._

This Sunday might be good. Or yeah… Hopefully.

**XXXXX**

I realized that I was all excited about the party this Sunday. Whereas I wasn't the guy who loved parties or wasted their times on getting closer with unknown people, especially girls, in the crowd and noisy place. And I was fully aware that this was because of Elena, the girl who I would go with. I smiled stupidly to myself as I thought about her. Her face literally came into my mind. Her beautiful face, her sweet smile, her cute laugh and I even could smell her perfume in my nose. I was just that crazy about her, wasn't I?

I didn't know since when I started to admire her. Or liked her. Or even loved her, I didn't know. She was always being the most caring and greatest friend I've ever had until now. When we were kids, she never forgot to ask me to play with her after school. She never took a long time to forgive me if I made mistakes. She never tried to be someone else in front of me. She was all natural. Even though I was 2 years older than her but she always considered me as her coeval friend. And that brought us closer.

Time has passed and I got to move to Italy because of the accident. I was sad, yes; terribly sad to be honest. Not only because of my parents' death but it was also because of leaving Elena and her brother, the ones that I've got here beside Damon. But I had no choice, I had to leave them.

In Italy, I never forgot to send them e-mails, even if just to say that Damon and I were fine or asked how were them. I also liked to tell them how my school and college went. I told them how were Damon's love life stories in here since they all knew what type of a guy he was. I told them to not to forget about us, the [perhaps] annoying Salvatore brothers. And I always told them that I, well me and Damon, loved them both. Yeah I knew; that one was sensitive. But still…

Buzz. Buzz.

My phone suddenly vibrated, bringing me back to the reality. I looked at my phone on the nightstand then took it to see the caller ID.

It was Damon and I quickly pressed the answer button.

"What?"

"Well hello to you too, Stef." he mocked. I laid my back on the bed as I exhaled.

"What do you want, Damon?"

"Just wanted to say goodnight to you, baby bro." he answered. Then there was an awkward silence.

"You're not funny." I said, responding his words after a few blinks. He was acting weird lately. What's wrong with him?

"Kay, I just wanted to tell you about something important."

Realized that his voice went serious, I got up from the bed, walking towards the desk and sitting on the chair. "What is it?"

"Rebekah is here."

"Rebekah Mikaelson? No way."

"Yes way, Steffy. And for your information, she's been stalking you for a week."

_Stalking me?_ "How did you know?"

"My best informant man told me." before I could say something, he continued. "Sorry I didn't tell you before. I paid some guys to watch and protect the company since someone blackmailed me a couple weeks ago which I thought that was Elijah, her brother."

"Why did you not tell me about this earlier?!" I half yelled as I stood up from the chair. "You know Damon, I could've helped you to think what to do!"

"Whoa relax brother. I know that and I'm sorry." he said calmly. "I just didn't want to give you more problems."

"That's ridiculous. We're a family, Damon. Don't take the responsibility all by yourself." I answered, placing my free hand on my face then caressing it. I felt dizzy in all of sudden. "So when you came to my office, did you do something like investigated the place to find her?"

"Yes, that's why I didn't take a long time to talk to you. But I didn't find her and there were no signs of her appearance."

I kept silence, learning his words. "And Elijah is the one who's behind this?" I asked him again, making myself sure about what I heard.

Damon sighed then answered, "I don't know yet. But whoever behind this, Rebekah is pretty much involved."

"You sound so sure about that. Maybe she's just coming around."

"And stalking you like a crazy admirer? Please."

I learned his words again before answered. "You're right though. She doesn't like to waste her time without any good occasions."

"Yeah." he agreed. "I just want you to be more careful."

"I'll try." I said, nodding to myself. "What was the blackmail about?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow, I can't tell the whole stories by phone. Your place or mine?"

"Yours. What time?"

"6 PM."

"Done."

"Hey, Stef…" he called again, preventing me to end the call.

"Yes?"

"How about your date?"

"I'll come with Elena." I answered quickly. Way too quick.

He laughed slightly. "So predictable. It's like she's the only girl who lived in this small city."

"She's the nearest."

"Or because you're in love with her."

"Damon…"

He laughed louder. "What? Come on Stefan, just admit it."

"Goodnight, brother."

"Well yeah, yeah goodnight." he said, still laughing. He cleared his throat twice then added, "Remember to be more careful okay?"

"Okay." after I said that, both of me and Damon ended the call. I walked towards the bed again and threw my phone on it. I couldn't get rid of things that Damon told me on the phone. Rebekah stalked me, the possibility of Elijah blackmailed him and now I only had one question.

_What are they up to?_

**A/N : Uh oh.. Who are Rebekah and Elijah to the Salvatore brothers? And what's going on with them? Did something bad happen in the past? Please leave me some reviews! And see you in the next update! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N : Do you know how much I appreciate your feedback? A LOT! Thank you all so much! And here it is, the Stefan/Elena dance moment as you wish to read in this chapter. Enjoy! :D**

This was it. Today was the Sunday afternoon and it was 4.40 already. The Sunday that I've been waiting for days and hoping to come faster; because they went slow since Elena wanted me to be her date. And here I was, standing in front of a big mirror in my room and getting ready. My excitement kind of made me nervous and I still couldn't do the buttons on my shirt for everything' sake. What the hell was going on with me?

"Damn it!" I hissed, getting mad at myself because this nervousness was ridiculous. "Relax, Stefan. You're gonna be okay." I told myself as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. "Relax." I said again, taking a deep breath then releasing it slowly. I tried again to do the buttons and finally all done. I turned around, walking through the desk and sitting on the chair, wearing my shoes. Suddenly my phone buzzed five times, signaling someone was calling.

"What now?" I literally asked to the caller once I answered the call.

"Whoa easy." he answered back. "I just wanted to warn you again about Mikaelsons."

I put my phone on the desk and switched it into loudspeaker so I wouldn't have to hold it as I continued to wear my other shoe. "Any news?"

"Uh huh." Damon simply answered. "The good news is- the one who blackmailed me was really Elijah."

My eyebrows instantly furrowed. "You considered that as good news? Wow." I asked him sarcastically.

"At least we know who's behind this." he defended himself.

I rolled my eyes and asked again. "And the bad news is?"

"Well this is just my feeling but I think one of them would be at the party tonight." he answered again, completely uncertain about what himself said but I knew Damon's feeling was strong. He'd been predicting things and he almost always got them right.

"Elijah?" I predicted arbitrarily. I took my phone back from the desk, switching it again into normal speaker and holding it onto my ear; realizing this was an intense conversation.

"Nah, I think it'd be Rebekah. You know how much she loves party, don't you?" he told me. "Just avoid her if you see her there okay? And don't let Elena get involved into this."

I nodded. "Of course I'll protect her." I promised, tightening my grip to my phone. "So what I have to say or do if Rebekah comes?"

"Act like you're surprised. Don't let her know that you already knew she's here." he answered.

I nodded to myself again. "I'll try."

"Okay then, I gotta go. The investor is coming." Damon said. "Oi. Protect Elena." he added, pressuring his tone as he said that then ending the call. I sighed as I put my phone on the desk again. It's not going to be an easy night if Rebekah was really coming to the party.

**OOO**

I was all ready and stood in front of Elena's door 20 minutes later, coming to pick her up to the party. I knocked the wood in front of me then she opened it by herself after a few minutes.

"Hey, you're on time." she said, smiling as she widening the opened door. I gasped quietly as I looked at her. She was so beautiful. "Sorry I'm not ready yet, there's something I have to do to finish this." she said again, pointing her body up and down that wrapped with a short but long sleeved elegant red dress.

I stood still, couldn't say anything. I was clearly mesmerized by her. "Stefan?" she called, waving her hand to my face. "Hey Stefan?" she did it again. Finally I could blink my eyes then shook my head a little, coming back from the shocked pace.

"Umm… Sorry I... I…" I tried to explain but failed. My brain still couldn't think properly. She giggled then nodded, knowing that was one of my bad habit if I got shocked or panicked.

"That's okay. So uh I believe you need to go inside and wait for me for a few more minutes." she said, stepping back to let me in. She giggled again as I walked in then closed the door. "Comfort yourself. I'll be right back."

"Take your time." I finally could say something. She smiled then ran upstairs. I breathed slowly, bringing myself back to the reality then walking to the living room to sit on the couch. My hands automatically covered my face as I remembered the embarrass moment a few minutes ago.

I couldn't help myself but got stuck when I saw her beautiful face opened the door. Well she was more than beautiful; she was perfect this afternoon with that red dress and gorgeous make up on her face, especially her red lipstick. And she did her hair simply, tying some of her hair and letting the rest fell onto her back effortlessly.

5 minutes later or so I heard her heels knocked against the stairs. I quickly stood then walked towards the end of the stairs, waiting for her. I looked at her amazingly when she smiled widely at me. _Damn, she's truly gorgeous_. I couldn't stop thinking how amazing she was.

"So are you ready?" she asked, now standing in front of me.

"Before we go, I have something for you." I said, avoiding her to make another step. She watched me digging my pocket then brought something out; a small white rose hairpin. She smiled then turned around, allowing me to put it near her tied hair.

"Thank you, Stefan. This is so sweet." she said and turned around again, admiring the hairpin as she touching it. I smiled even wider as I looked at her. Then I extended my hand, signaling her that I was ready to go. She giggled again and took my hand with hers. "Let's go then." she said.

We walked out of her house and reached my car. After we both hopped in, I started to drive my car to the Lockwood's mansion. It needed 30 minutes from here but well yeah, I would surely enjoy every moment of it.

**XXXXX**

"Stefan Salvatore, it's so nice to see you here." Mr. Lockwood greeted Stefan as soon as Stefan and I walked into the building. "Miss Gilbert comes too. Welcome, welcome." he added eagerly, shaking hands with me and Stefan.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Lockwood." Stefan said politely as he smiled. "We're honored." he added respectful. I smiled as well.

"What does a party mean without Salvatore and Gilbert, eh?" Mr. Lockwood asked teasingly. "Damon told me that he couldn't make it so you'd represent him." he said, putting his both hands in his pockets.

"Yes, Mr. Lockwood. He has works to do." Stefan told him.

"Ah yes, yes, I know. He's a success business man so it makes him very busy." he said understandingly. "Well, enjoy the party!" he said then asked permission to meet other guests. Stefan and I nodded in union, letting him to do whatever he wanted to.

"So would you like to have a drink, Miss Gilbert?" Stefan asked, turning his face to look at me. I lingered my arm around his once again, smiling widely and nodding. He led me towards the drink table near the podium. "By the way, where is Jenna? I didn't see her when I picked you up." Stefan brought a light conversation as we took the glasses.

"She's in New York, visiting Jeremy." I answered, clinging my glass to his before drank the water in it. "So you're here because Damon can't make it?" I asked. I was curious because he didn't tell me about this before.

He smiled nervously. "Yes. Do you mind?" he asked, putting his glass back to the table. I chuckled then shook my head.

"Absolutely not. If he was the one who came, who would I ask to go with then?" I asked back, feeling a little need to tease him.

He laughed and nodded in an agreement. "Ah yes, you're right, Miss Gilbert. I wouldn't have been your date tonight if Damon could've made it." he said. Then there was an awkward silent moment. I threw my eyes towards the crowd as I played my glass nervously and I could feel Stefan's eyes were on my face, looking at me… I didn't know, adoringly?

"Stefan! You made it man!" suddenly I heard someone spoke. I turned around and saw Tyler was hugging Stefan already. He was Mr. Lockwood's the one and only son. We went to the same junior high school for 2 years but then he moved to California in the third year. Now, he was working as The Grill's manager and yep… Dating Caroline.

Stefan chuckled as he patted Tyler's back. "Of course I did." he said. "Where's Caroline?" he asked him, looking around to find her. I did the same, preparing myself to get embarrassed by her "Stefan is your date tonight" words that would come from her mouth. But I didn't see her.

"She's on her way, you know, after got dressed for an hour and half." Tyler answered, half laughing. I instantly rolled my eyes as I heard that. That was so Caroline-ish. "Elena came, too." he said, finally turning some from Stefan to hug me carefully.

"What does a party mean without a Gilbert?" I asked, copying his father's words as he pulling away. "Jenna couldn't make it so I'm here." I told him as I put my glass back on the table. "Visiting Jeremy in New York." I added before he even could ask.

"Haha I almost asked you why." he said.

"You just don't know, Tyler, she can read your mind." Stefan said jokingly.

"A Cullen related?" Tyler teased, looking at me playfully. I hit his arm with my purse slightly as I laughed. Stefan only chuckled and patted Tyler's shoulder once. "Hey Stefan." he called, turning his face to see my date. "I want to talk about something with you." he said.

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Sure." he agreed. Then he followed Tyler towards a group of men that was standing not far from us. Maybe they all were business men, I didn't know. I exhaled as I watched them leave. Even though I was sure it was out of my concern, but I kinda didn't like the idea of leaving me alone. I wasn't a party-girl type and I didn't know what to do now.

"Miss Gilbert, I presume?" suddenly someone asked from behind. That was a girl's voice.

I turned around and saw a gorgeous blonde-girl standing in front of me elegantly. I looked her from her head to her toes, remembering if I ever met her before. But I couldn't recognize her face. Who was she? "Yes and you are?" I asked politely. She seemed nice.

Or I was wrong. "Ah so you are the Salvatore brothers lovely bitch then." she said calmly yet harshly. I jerked a little bit as I heard she said that. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Excuse me?" I asked confusedly, starting to get irritated by her words. The lovely bitch?!

She scuffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes." she answered lazily with her Australian accent. "I even don't understand how Stefan could talk highly about you in front of me."

Wait, did she say Salvatore brothers and Stefan? She knew them? "Just so you know, Miss…" I hung, waiting for her to tell me her name but she didn't. So I continued, "Whatever, Stefan, Damon and I are very close friends. We're like a family."

"A family?" she asked disbelief. "Define it then. Sex family? It sounds nastier than sex friends."

I fisted my hand as I looked at her sternly. This girl was so annoying and she almost got into my nerves. "We're friends since we're kids." I told her, making it clear.

She scuffed again as she took a glass from the table. "Well, that makes me feel a little better. But this isn't over, Miss Gilbert." she continued, walking towards me then stopping her steps before she bumped me. "It's so wonderful to see you feel threatened."

"I don't feel threatened." I said firmly. "I feel annoyed." I added as I looked at her face, waiting for her reaction. And guess what? She just laughed. She was definitely crazy.

"You're funny." she said as she stepped back then her face went serious. "Stefan is mine and don't you dare to touch him."

"Oh don't worry, I'd love to take your words as a challenge. Watch me." I told her. I could see that she was way angrier than she was before I said that. But I didn't care. She didn't know me, neither did I about her. So why should I hear her words anyway?

"You're a real bitch." she hissed.

"You just don't know me." I simply said. Because really, I would take the bait if someone was really looking for a mess with me. I watched her put the glass back onto the table, walking towards me then bumping her shoulder onto mine angrily as she passing me. What was she, a teenager? I kept looking at her until she lost in the crowd.

"Miss Gilbert." suddenly someone called me again. I gasped then quickly turned my head to the right to see who was calling. He smiled gently as he looked at me.

"Derek Cane." I greeted as I exhaled gratefully because the drama with that blonde girl was over. "What are you doing here?" I asked, offering my hand to him. He looked at it before shook his hand with mine.

"Throwing myself into this old-school party. You?" he asked back.

"Same as you." I answered. "You came here all alone?" I asked curiously, seeing no one standing or walking with him.

He laughed a bit. "Unfortunately, yes." he answered shyly. "So if it's not, um…"

"No, she is with me." someone said. I knew very well whose voice that was so I didn't take any chance to look at him. But Derek did.

"Mr. Salvatore." he greeted politely, jerking a little bit as he saw him. I could tell he was surprised. "Sorry, I didn't know Miss Gilbert already had a date." he said, looking at Stefan then me.

"Now you know." Stefan told him coldly. I slapped his arm carefully, reminding him that Derek was being all polite. Stefan shook his head slightly as he looked at me, indicating it wasn't a big deal for him. Not for him but yes for me. "What are you doing here anyways?" Stefan asked.

"My father is one of Mr. Lockwood's friends and he was invited. Even though, you know, Cane isn't a founding family name."

"Yeah, I figured that." Stefan said, stepping forward to me and lingered his arm around my waist. "And I'm sorry, we have to go." he said, tightening his grip around me.

Derek looked at Stefan's arm around me as he nodded. "Sure. Enjoy this party." he said. "And uh, if this isn't necessary, you look stunning with that dress, Miss Gilbert." he added. I felt my face reddened as I nodded.

"Thank you." I said, accepting his compliment. Then I let Stefan bring me towards Tyler and Caroline out of the mansion. I sighed quietly but Stefan heard that.

"Everything okay?" he asked full of concern. I couldn't tell him about that blonde girl right now, could I?

I nodded, smiling as I looking at him again. "Definitely. Just relieved that Caroline has arrived." I told him.

"Finally huh?" he asked back.

"Finally." I agreed, chuckling as I waving at Caroline, signaling that Stefan and I were coming to them. "They look happy." I commented as I kept looking at the couple. Quite truthfully, I was kinda jealous. But heck, I didn't even have a boyfriend, why should I be jealous?

"Just because they're happy." he said, turning his face to look at me then smiling. I returned his smile and nodded.

"Yeah they are."

**XXXXX**

"You're so good at this." Elena said as we danced slowly. The prime event has ended so the guests could enjoy the rest of the evening with dancing. She resisted my invitation at first but I didn't give up until she finally agreed. She took my extended hand then I led her to the dance floor.

I deliberately chose the corner, not wanting people to see us. Just in case. But she didn't mind though. As soon as we faced each other, she placed her hands on my shoulders and I automatically placed mine on her waist. Honestly I hated dancing, but with Elena, it's an exception. We followed the music rhythm slowly as we kept smiling to each other. God did she know that her smile was so infectious?

"You bet I am." I said, completely being proud of my dance skill. Yeah, even though I hated it. I pulled away from Elena a little bit, giving her a little space before raised her hand and spun her around. I caught her waist before she bumped into me in the process then continued the dance. "You're not bad yourself." I said, complimenting her back. She rolled her eyes then grinned.

"I took the dance class in my senior high school." she told me, moving her hands from my shoulder to the back of my neck and starting to play the nape of my hair. One thing that she didn't know, I loved it so much when she did that. "You look surprised." she observed.

I cleared my throat before answered, without even leaving her eyes. "I'm very much surprised. You didn't tell me about that."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I did."

"Did not." I argued.

"Yes, I did." she didn't stop defending herself. Well then…

I sighed then nodded understandingly. "You did." Then she formed a winning smile in front of my face. "Not." I finished, throwing a playful smile to her.

Her smile faded then pouted. "I did." she continued. I laughed as I looked at her face. "Stefan, I did. I swear." she kept reassuring me. "I told you everything via email."

"Okay, okay." I said, giving up too easy. I just couldn't let myself win over her, even though I knew that she wasn't always right. "I'll check my inbox later and look for it." I said.

"Good." she said. Then I spun her around again, this time a little bit far than first. "Uhm Stefan, may I ask you something?" she uncertainly asked me when she was back into my embrace, her arms were around me again.

"Anything." I answered, feeling confused because she was careful this time. She never asked my permission before she threw her questions. "Well?" I asked, feeling impatient because she took a long time to ask and it made me more curious.

She bit her lower lip as she looked at me. I raised an eyebrow at her, signaling that I was waiting for her words. But then she shook her head. "Maybe next time." she said as she exhaled deeply.

"Elena…" I warned. She knew really well that I didn't like if she kept her thoughts from me. "Just ask anything." I said again.

She stubbornly shook her head again then leaned in to place her chin on my shoulder instead, moving closer to me. I blinked my eyes a few times then gulped. She was so good at distracting me, even though I was sure she didn't realize that. "You okay?" I asked as I tried to calm down.

I could feel she nodded her head but didn't say anything. If I didn't know her any better, I would think she was really keeping a secret from me. But despite of it all, I was trying to cherish the moment. Not only because I was dancing with Elena right now. But the fact that I was her date tonight. And she looked absolutely gorgeous. And she complimented me that I was good at dancing… Okay, it was everything about her tonight that made me happy.

"Thank you." I whispered to her ear. She pulled her head away, looking at me confusedly.

"For what?" she asked.

"For everything tonight." I answered then briefly leaned in and kissed her cheek. She didn't say anything but smiled and placed her chin on my shoulder again. Then I heard the song has changed into Yiruma - Moonlight, one of my favorites all the time.

"Ah your favorite music instrumental." Elena suddenly said, moving her head a little as she heard the music.

"Uh-huh." I simply agreed, bending down some as I exhaling her scent from her hair, it was a mix of green apple and jasmine. The perfect mix of Elena Gilbert whose I knew so well.

"Have I told you that you look extremely beautiful tonight?" I asked her. She giggled as she hit my back slightly. "I consider that as a not yet." I added that only made her giggled louder.

"You look handsome yourself in your suit, Mr. Salvatore." she opinioned.

"If there was the Auction King and Queen, we would become the winner."

"So confident."

"I wouldn't mind though."

"I know you wouldn't." she said, infecting her laughter to me. Then we didn't say anything more. We just danced, obeying the music by our moves.

Tonight, another epic moment with Elena has been created. For me at least.

And I should thank Damon later.

If I didn't die because of this overloaded happiness though.

**A/N : This took me forever to write. But reviews are welcomed in anytime!**

**And if you have anything to say, feel free to tweet me – **_**winchestelena**_**.**

**Thank you all for reading!**

**Ah Elena's dress - **** us. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N : The Elena's dress link didn't work, sorry! But I hoped the last chapter [in general] didn't disappoint you. But even if it did, I would like to apologize. (_ _)**

"Morning." Caroline greeted as I hopped into her car. "How was last night going? Epic?" she asked playfully. I knew she was just teasing me.

I rolled my eyes, closing the door then wearing the safety belt. "Stop that, Miss Forbes."

"Oh Miss Gilbert, don't be shy." she said, laughing as she starting to drive her car. "But you looked happy. Even Tyler asked me if you and Stefan were dating for real."

I felt my face was burning and I didn't brave to look at her because yes, I was happy last night. If Caroline knew about this, she wouldn't stop teasing me for a whole month.

"Oh my gosh, you're blushing!" Caroline yelled excitedly. "Told you, you might be happy with him." she winked at me.

"Watch the road, Caroline." I warned, pretending to be busy with my phone after that. But her excitement about me and Stefan took control over her.

"Who was that? Did Stefan send you a message?" she asked again, glancing back to the road from me.

"Oh my God, Caroline! No, he didn't text me okay? See?" I desperately asked her, showing my phone to her. But she only laughed and shrugged playfully. She could be the most annoying human being sometimes.

"Okay, okay." she gave up as she laughed. "Hey, do you want our photos from last night?"

"Hmm? What photos?" I asked back, didn't really get what she just said because I was too busy with my phone for real right now.

She turned her face to look at me. "The photos from the party, Elena. The four of us." she told me. She paused for a while before added, "Or did you just want the photos of you and Stefan?"

I exhaled deeply before turned my head to see her and smiled halfheartedly. "When did you take my photo with him anyway? I didn't remember it."

"I did candid last night." she said proudly. "Oh I got the one when he kissed your cheek too." she added, teasing me more. And okay, I officially felt more embarrassed by now. "I think it'd be wonderful if I published them on Facebook or even Twitter."

"You don't have Facebook." I reminded her.

"Oh I can make one."

"And Twitter?" I asked her disbelief.

"I do have it." she answered me calmly. "Or have I ask for Tyler's help to publish them all?" she asked playfully to herself.

"Don't you dare, Caroline Forbes." I said firmly.

"Or what?" she challenged. "Tell Stefan that I'm the bad girl here?" she asked sarcastically. "We both know he'll support me when it comes to you, Elena." she argued and won again. I sighed quietly and swallowed all of my words because it'd be useless if I continued to argue with her.

"Fine, do whatever you want. But don't blame me if I stop talking to you." I warned her then threw my eyes to the road again. I heard Caroline giggled and leaned back to her chair to get more comfortable.

"Okay. You can't stop talking to me though." she said easily, feeling happy because it was the fact.

Yeah, that's because she never missed on throwing her baits to me.

**XXXXX**

"Good morning, Boss." Lexi greeted as I passed her desk. I nodded then quickly opened my room door, walking in and putting my briefcase on the table. "Mr. Zach wants to meet you as soon as you come." she informed. I nodded again, too busy for words because I was searching my phone. "Boss?" she called.

"Sorry Lexi, I think I left my phone in the car." I told her, standing up then running out of the room towards the elevator. I heard Lexi called me again but I had no time to answer her. I was supposed to have some important calls with my colleagues and now I had to take my phone from my car in the basement. What a damn morning.

"Come on! Come on!" I got more panicked because the elevator took a long time to open its doors. Once they opened, I hurriedly walked in then pressed the B2 button. Fortunately, there was no one using the same elevator as me so I didn't have to stop before I reached my destination. It only took 3 minutes to stop at B2 and as soon as the doors opened, I ran towards my car.

"Where is it, where is it?" I asked myself, looking for it anywhere soon after unlocking the car. The dashboard, the little drawer and even the back seats- I checked all of them but I didn't find it. "Damn it!" I cursed, standing steady beside the car door. "Where did I leave that? Is it at home?" I asked myself again, remembering this morning scenario before I left for work. "No, I was sure I brought it here."

"Mr. Salvatore?" someone called. I quickly turned around and saw Elena with Caroline standing right behind me, looking at me curiously. "What happened?" she asked.

"I uh… I thought I left my phone here but it's nowhere to be found." I answered, caressing the back of my head desperately. The colleagues would be disappointed if I didn't answer their calls.

"Are you sure you've checked all places?" she asked again. I nodded then looked at her again. "It's not in your pockets or briefcase?" she continued. I laughed sarcastically as I heard that.

"Sweetheart, if it's in my pockets or briefcase, I wouldn't be here right now." I told her. Because really- sometimes she could be that funny at this kind of emergency moment.

"Here, use my phone, make a call." Caroline walked towards me then handed her phone to me. I looked at her gratefully then eagerly dialed my phone. It rang twice before I recognized the source of the voice; it's in under the driver's seat. Great, I missed that spot.

I took it from the car then handed Caroline's phone back to her. "Thank you so much, Caroline. You're my angel." I said politely. Well I didn't mean to tease her but it only slipped out of my mouth. It's not bad to tell someone an angel after they helped you right? Or did I sound like a douchebag searching for an alibi?

"You're welcome, Mr. Salvatore." she said back, giggling and looking at Elena, I didn't know, proudly? I chuckled then closed the door and locked it again. I checked my phone before walked towards the elevator again. Thank God, there was no missed call.

"You seem relieved." I heard Elena said again, maybe because she heard me sighed quietly. I turned around then stopped in front of her. She stopped right before she bumped me.

"I am relieved." I agreed. "I was supposed to have some important calls at 8 AM but look, there's no missed call." I said, acting like happy child as I showing my phone to her. She smiled and nodded.

"Happy to hear that, Mr. Salvatore." she said. I heard Caroline coughed a few times, moving my intention from Elena to her. Elena did the same, looking at Caroline confusedly. But I didn't really mind it though, I was still happy that I… well, we, found my phone.

"So uh let's go." I said, stepping back to let the ladies walked ahead. But they both shook their heads. "What?" I asked confusedly.

"You first, Boss." Caroline took her chance to speak. "We shouldn't walk in front of you deliberately." she reasoned. I rolled my eyes as I heard that silly sentence.

"But both of you are women. So please." I argued as I extended my hand, pointing the way in front of them. They shook their heads again. I had to admit that they were so stubborn. "Fine." I said, standing in front of them. "But don't reject my invitation for drinks tonight. I pay." I declared.

"What is that for actually?" Elena asked. I knew she would reject me, uh my invitation. I could see Caroline snapped Elena's arm slightly from the corner of my eyes but she didn't say anything.

"For helping me find this." I said, showing my phone to her again. "I don't want to hear a no from both of you." I pointed out. "Okay ladies, see you tonight." I finished, smiling then turning around and walking towards the elevator. I had no choice except left them behind because they didn't want to walk with me.

I saw they nodded before my elevator closed their doors and began lift me up. I smiled to myself. Tonight would be great with Elena and Caroline.

**XXXXX**

"Oh come on!" Caroline snapped. "Elena it's 6.30 PM already and our boss is waiting for us at M&B!" she reminded me for the millionth times. I groaned as I turned off my computer, giving up before she said the same damn words again.

"What if I don't come?" I asked her as I stood then wore my coat, grabbing my bag after that.

When I looked at her, she was smirking devilishly at me. "You're going to die." she simply threatened. I rolled my eyes and began walking, leaving her behind me. "You know Elena…" suddenly her words were cut by someone's appearance. Derek.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked as he looked at me and Caroline. I nodded then continued my steps. "Can I drive you home?" he asked again, causing me to stop not far from him.

Caroline stood beside me before she stepped back. I turned around then shook my head politely. "No, thanks. I got Caroline." I answered.

"And plus, we have an appointment tonight." Caroline added, rising her tone a little bit. She always did that when she was talking to someone she didn't really like. Why Derek anyway?

"Double date?" he asked, maybe wanting to tease us. But it turned out as an annoying question.

"Not your concern." Caroline said again. Clearly she was irritated by him. Then she pulled my hand and led me towards the elevator quickly.

"Be careful!" I heard Derek said again before he went to his desk. I didn't say anything anymore but heard Caroline grumbled about him; that she didn't like him. And she kept talking about him until we reached the place where we were supposed to meet Stefan. She seriously didn't like Derek, did she?

**OOO**

"You're late, ladies." I said as they reached our table. Elena smiled apologetically as she looked at me. I nodded understandingly then let them sat in front of me.

"Sorry, Mr…" I threw my eyes to Caroline before even she finished her words.

"Please, just Stefan. It sounds more… simple and plus we're not in the office." I told her. She nodded and said okay. "So what do you want to drink? I'll buy it." After they named what they wanted, I stood then walked to the bar, ordering their menus.

I looked around as I waited for the drinks. There were not so many people though. Was it because today was Monday? I stole a glance to our table, wanting to see Elena. She didn't look at me but Caroline. They were talking about something seriously and it made me curious. What was going on here?

"Your drinks, Sir." I heard the bartender said. I turned around then thanked him as I grabbed the glasses. My eyes never left our table since I walked from the bar. And honestly, I tried to overhear their conversation but Caroline was fast enough to stop the convo as soon as I got closer. Damn, she might have the sixth sense. Okay no, I was too much this time.

"Here you go." I said as I put the glasses on the table then sat down on my chair. "What are you two talking about? You look so serious." I casually asked as I sipped my drink. They both shook their heads in union, which made me more curious. As far as I know, they never talked to each other that serious. This must be something.

But Caroline quickly changed the topic, avoiding me to ask again. "Ah Mr… Stefan, I called Tyler to come, is that okay? I'm afraid that we're gonna be drunk and no one can drive me home." she said honestly. I laughed at her words then nodded.

"Of course it's okay. He's my friend too anyway." I told her. "Ah by the way you two saved this company." I informed, smiling happily.

Elena widened her eyes as she heard I said that. "Really? How come?" she asked. Caroline nodded, supporting her question.

"Well you two found my phone so that I didn't miss the important calls. They are our colleagues from Dubai. You know, Dubai is a very rich country in these last years. We're lucky to work together with them." I explained, looking at the ladies proudly. They were really my saviors.

"So that is why you buy us drinks." Caroline concluded. I shook my head, disagreeing with her words.

"I buy you drinks because I wanted to. And you two were being my angels this morning, remember?" I reminded. Both of Elena and Caroline were giggling but didn't say anything afterwards; we were too busy with our drinks. An hour later, Tyler finally came and joined us having some fun for tonight. And it was like a double date; only my hope though.

**XXXXX**

"Stefaaaan…" Caroline called me lazily as she stood in front of me outside the bar, waiting for Tyler to take her car from the parking lot. She and Elena were drunk but Elena was less than Caroline, not really helped though.

"Yes?" I answered, tightening my grip around Elena's waist and Caroline's arms before they both fell. The last thing I wanted to happen tonight was both of these drunken girls fell onto the floor and slept there.

"Take care of my Elena…" she said again, extending her hand to pinch Elena's cheek as she giggling so loud.

"He will, Care… He will take care of me…" Elena said back to her before I could respond. I only nodded, reassuring that I would do what I had to do to Elena. Take care of her, of course.

"Promise me okay?" Caroline asked again, pointing her finger to my face. I nodded once again.

"I promise." Then suddenly Tyler honked her car once, signaling that he was ready to take her home. He got out of her car and helped his girlfriend hopped in.

"Thank you, Stefan. Drive safe." he told me before hopped back into his seat.

"You too." I said back and stood still, waiting here until they were out of my sight then helped Elena walked towards my car. She was babbling everything so happily that I couldn't understand what exactly she babbled about.

"Where are we going?" she asked from her seat as I hopped into my car and turned on the engine. She was moving her head a little, probably looking for a better position.

"Your home." I answered, looking at her. But she closed her eyes already and didn't say anything more. So I started to drive her home before midnight.

_20 minutes later…_

"Elena." I called, poking her arms to wake her up. "Elena." I tried again. She stirred her head a little but didn't wake up. There was no other way except carry her inside. I slowly hopped out of the car, walking towards her side then opened the door. I tried for the last time to wake her but she didn't react. Well…

I unbuckled her safety belt, placing one arm behind her back and the other one below her knees then lifting her up. "It's okay, I got you." I said once she opened her eyes slowly, looking at me disoriented. She leaned her head against my chest before closed her eyes again.

After closed the car door, I walked towards the door of her house. "Elena, I need the key." I said hopelessly. This wasn't going to be easy. "Elena…" I whispered.

"Hmm?" she stirred her head again.

"The key." I told her. "Please, where is it?"

She opened her eyes in all of sudden then released herself from my arms, standing up with her own feet.

"Whoa, whoa, be careful." I said, holding her arms again before she fell. She shook her head a little then smiled innocently as she looked at me.

"Stefan… What are you doing here?" she asked. Okay, she was still drunk.

"I'm taking you home." I answered. "Now please be a doll and give me your key." I said, tightening my grip because she almost lost her balance. Again.

"Hmm what?" she asked, giggling uncontrollably.

"Your house key so you can get inside and sleep." I told her patiently. My Elena was drunk and this was a rare moment. "Is Jenna home?"

She shook her head no. "She'll be back by Wednesday." she giggled again. "Ah the key…" she opened her bag and looked for it.

"Let me." I volunteered, taking the key from her after she found it. I stepped forward and unlocked the door easily. She thanked me then opened the door, stepping in and directly walking into the kitchen. I followed her behind after closed the door, not wanting to leave her drunk all alone. "Need help?" I asked.

She turned around and laughed. She looked extremely happy when she was drunk. "Nope." she answered, popping the P. I watched her took a mineral water from the refrigerator then drank them. "This feels so good." she said.

"Wash your face. It'd make you feel more better." I told her. She giggled again before walked into the sink and washed her face. I smiled as I saw her did what I said. And yeah I was being a total narcissistic here. "Can you make it to your room?" I asked, taking a pity on her because she seemed couldn't do anything by herself.

"I think…" she hung, walking towards the living room. "The couch is waaaaaaaaay better than bed." she said, extending her hands to her side as she saying that. I kept looking at her, following her behind. God this Elena was so… free.

"Are you sure? I can help you go to your room." I asked again, wanting to make her sure. She nodded as she sat down on the couch then giggled again. She leaned back, placing her head onto the top of the couch, starting to babble again.

"Stefaaaan…" she called in all of sudden, trying her best to look at me. "Come here..." she invited as she patted the spot beside her. I sighed then obeyed her instruction. She placed her head on her hand, helping her to get more comfortable as she turned her body towards me. "Caroline always tells me that you like me."

I widened my eyes. Caroline got me... Uhm, busted. But how?

"Is that right?" she asked, looking at me. I gulped, didn't know what to say. "I know it's not right. Because that is impossible." she suddenly answered her own question. "Oh Stefan… But that hurts me…" she spilled it out.

Hurt? "Why does that hurt you?" I asked silently.

She sighed then brought her hand down to her stomach, placing her head on the top of the couch once again and closing her eyes. "The thought of you don't like me…"

I looked at more seriously, waiting for her to continue.

"Because I think I like you too…"

Then her breaths became regular, indicating that she fell into a deep sleep. Yeah because she had to sleep in this moment, right after she telling me that she thought she liked me too.

But what I was supposed to do now?

**A/N : Yep, Elena likes him too. But she's drunk when she said that. Will Stefan take that as a good opportunity? Find out more on the next chapter. Thank you for reading and see ya! ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N : Wow it's almost 4 months since my last update and I still don't know how to apologize to all of you. But you have to know that I love you!**

"Because I think I like you too…"

Then her breaths became regular, indicating that she fell into a deep sleep. Yeah because she had to sleep in this moment, right after she telling me that she thought she liked me too.

But what I was supposed to do now? Confess my true feelings about her?

I stood up slowly, not wanting to wake her up.

Elena liked me too?

Elena Gilbert, my old friend and neighbor?

I knew that I was supposed to be happy about this but… GOD DAMN! I thought I might be in trouble. Not that kind of trouble but… that internal debate in my head.

_Confess?_

_Or not?_

_Oh Stefan why are you so idiot?!_

I walked back and forth towards the fireplace nearby then back to the couch, trying hard to get the final decision and of course, thinking about the impacts that we might have. Would she be freaked out if I said the truth? Or would she be happy about it? I've known Elena since we were kids but I had no clue how she would react about this. Love wasn't an easy thing to confess. At least for me.

My heart stopped a little as I heard she exhaled loudly. I turned around and saw her stirring her head then went back to sleep. She wasn't comfortable in that position, I knew that. I sighed nervously before walked back to her and watched her. Even when she was sleeping, and drunk, she still looked beautiful. "Que bella." I whispered as I stroked her loosened hair on her cheek. "Good thing you fall asleep, girl." I said again as I took the best position to lift her up and brought her to her bedroom on the second floor.

I spun the door knob carefully then walked in. Her room was still looked the same; her king size bed was near the window. Her old desk with a laptop on it was across her bed, standing still beside her favorite big mirror. I smiled as I saw the mirror; it reminded me of my bad luck that made Elena cried. It happened when I was still 11 and she was 9.

"_8… 9… 10! Ready or not, here I come!" Elena yelled as I kept silent in my strategic place. The four of us were playing hide and seek for the past 2 hours but Elena was never getting tired of it. So yeah, Jeremy, Damon and I gave up on her. Well, after I begged them to follow Elena's want of course. "Damon, I got cha!" I heard she yelled again, giggling and starting to run back to her place to 'honk' Damon which meant Damon would be the next seeker. Damon just groaned then followed her direction._

"_Jeremy? Stefan?" she called. "Where are you two?" she asked again, kept trying to find us. Suddenly she stopped her steps then quiet. All I could hear was my own slow breath and unsteady heart because I thought she found me already. "Boo!" she said which caused Jeremy to scream out loud. He must've shocked as well. Elena giggled and ran back again to her spot._

"_You scared me sis!" Jeremy said, taking a deep breath. "And you cheated." he said again._

"_What cheat? I didn't cheat!" she argued. "Um… Damon and Jeremy were caught. Where is Stefan?" she asked loudly._

"_Come're baby bro! It's over!" Damon yelled, wishing that this game would be over soon._

"_No! Not yet!" Elena told him; well me too, perhaps. "I still want to find him."_

"_Gah! Aren't you tired?" Jeremy groaned._

"_Eh I am tired, but let me find Stefan first okay? Then we can go for a nap." she decided._

"_Okay. Let her, Jer." Damon said understandingly. He was… yeah kind of like me. I meant he could never resist what Elena wanted or wished._

"_Okay! I'll go find him!" Elena said eagerly as she giggled some more. Gosh, even her giggles made me happy. I kept silent as I heard Elena's shoes knocking the wood floor. She was searching everywhere but my place. When I heard she was getting closer, I thought that my hiding place wasn't safe anymore. So I decided to move to another place. I looked at the mirror and thought maybe I could hide at the back of it. I ran towards it right before Elena opened her bedroom door. "Stefan?" she whispered as she walked in._

_I peeked at the gap between floor and the mirror when she was looking for me in her shared bathroom with Jeremy. I closed my mouth before let a laugh came out. "Stefan?" she called again. "Where is he?" she asked herself then walked out of the room. I sighed, relieved that she didn't find me._

_I placed my hands on the floor, getting ready to stand up. Once I stood, I patted my pants a few times as I walked from behind the mirror towards the door. "There you are." suddenly someone said. I gasped then took one or two steps back to reach the mirror again. But suddenly I felt something sharp got into my left foot. I automatically screamed then lifted my foot to see what was happening. Crap, it's bleeding._

"_Stefan! Are you okay?" Elena rushed, standing in front of me then bent down to look at my wounded foot. "You're bleeding!" she screamed. "Damon! Jeremy!" she called with a cracking voice, indicating that she was afraid and panic. "I… I gotta call…" she said, trembling if I could say. Her teeth were chattering._

"_What happened?" Damon asked as he running into the room. "God! You're bleeding a lot!" he said after he saw my foot. I just smirked then shrugged. "Is that hurt?" he asked, looking at me as he touched near the wound. I flinched and closed my eyes. Of course that was hurt! "I gotta call mom." he said, running again out of the room. Well, fortunately, Mom was in our house. So it wouldn't take so long._

"_This is my fault." I heard Elena said as I sat down on the floor again. "I shouldn't have surprised you." she added, starting to let her tears made their ways on her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Stefan." she cried softly._

"_Hey, come here." I said, patting the floor beside me, signaling her that I wanted her to be there with me. She obeyed and closed her face with her hands, still crying. "Hey, hey." I called, pulling her hands on her face. "This isn't your fault, Elena. I didn't hear you come and wasn't careful enough when I took the steps."_

"_But… But…" she sobbed, trying to argue my words. I chuckled and shook my head. "That's okay. I'm strong. This is not that hurt." I told her._

"_Really?" she asked. I nodded, still smiling. "But I'm still sorry." she apologized as she looked into my eyes with her very own teary-doe-eyes._

"_Apology accepted." I said, winking at her so that she knew I was really okay and she didn't need to worry. Finally she was smiling a bit then placed her head against my shoulder. I flinched a little because I had to move to get closer to her. But thankfully it was out of her sight. Not long enough, my mother came and literally brought me home to give me a treatment._

It wasn't a good memory honestly, but I couldn't, you know... That was the first time Elena cried over me so yeah, that was unforgettable. I put Elena on her bed carefully, opening her shoes and her blazer then covered her body with a blanket. "Good night, Elena." I whispered, caressing her head lightly. I bent down to kiss her hair but I hesitated. _Who am I to her?_ I asked to myself then pulled back. I was nobody to do that to her.

I stood up steadily then turned her nightstand lamp off. "Mmm, Stefan..." I heard she called. I quickly looked at her again who was stirring her head abruptly. "Stefan…" she called me again. I sat on the edge of her bed then took her hand. She moved her body to her right side, facing me but didn't open her eyes. She just sighed longingly and went back to sleep. Well then, I thought this was meant I shouldn't go anywhere. Umm… _could not _were the correct words.

**XXXXX**

I opened my eyes as my nose caught something incredibly delicious. This made me hungry in all of sudden. But who was cooking? Was it Jenna? I tried to move but couldn't. Dear God, what was happening to me? And why the hell my head was so damn hurt? I threw my hand to the nightstand instead, trying to pick the alarm clock and see the numbers on it. 10.40 AM. Oh.

_10.40 AM?!_

"Shit!" I practically cursed then throw the clock, where I didn't know. How could I wake up so late?! I jumped out of the bed, not caring about my hurt head as I running towards the bathroom then took a real quick shower. Today was gonna be a bad day for me.

Not for long enough, I ended the shower session then got dressed. After a few more looks of myself in the mirror, I wore my shoes then rushed downstairs. I almost forgot that someone was actually cooking if I didn't smell that seductive aroma again. "Jenna, is that you?" I asked as I tapped my foot on the last stair then walked towards the kitchen. I didn't see Jenna there because then I remember she wouldn't be back until Wednesday. And it's still Mon… Wait, what day was it today?

"Morning, Elena." someone greeted. I gasped then turned around.

"Stefan! You scared me." I told him, placing my right hand above my heart. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I looked around to find someone else. But I guessed it was just him.

"Cooking." he answered simply. "You can't cook and you were pretty drunk last night so…" he added after reading the questions on my forehead.

I sighed then took a seat at the bar chair. "I, indeed, was pretty drunk last night." I agreed. Hey, I actually remembered that I was drunk, was that weird?

"Did you already get some Aspirin?" he asked as he walked towards the stove to turn it off. The food was ready to be served. I hoped though.

"No, not yet." I shook my head then looked at my watch. "Oh my God, Stefan! How about work? We're late!" I yelled, suddenly remembered that I, well, we were late to work. This was a nightmare. "We've gotta go now!" I said, getting more panicked. How could I just remember about this important thing right now? You're so stupid, Elena!

"Whoa, whoa." Stefan said, blocking my way out of the kitchen. "I called Lexi and told her that you're sick." he informed me. "And by that means, you don't have to go to work today."

"Seriously?" I asked disbelief. "Stefan, I can't do that. I am not sick and I want to go to work." I told him stubbornly. Even though, yeah, my head was still spinning so hard. I believed he could see that through my eyes and the way I walked that still like a drunk person.

"Nope, I won't buy it." he said sternly. "You go to the couch and I'll go find some Aspirin then bring the breakfast for you there." he added as he placed his hands on my arms.

"But…" my words were cut by his stern eyes. "Okay." I said, finally giving up. Not because I was afraid of him, but hello… We were talking about Stefan, right? He was always concerned when it came to something or people he loved or cared about. No one ever could beat his words.

"Are you serious they will believe that I am sick?" I asked him, a bit yelling because he was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah!" he yelled back. I sighed then leaned back to the couch. "Don't worry, it's Lexi. She believes people that easily, especially to me." he said again as he walked into the living room, bringing the food and Aspirin. The perfect gentleman, yeah?

"What about you? And what will your uncle think?" I asked again, helping him to put the things he brought to the table.

"Don't worry about me. Uncle Zach knows me enough to judge me negatively." he answered as he took a seat in front of me, grinning cutely.

"Stefan…"

"Oh please. I bring my works home everyday so it doesn't matter if I work at home or coffee shop or even grocery store. Now you eat then take the Aspirin."

I smiled at his explanations; it was true though. He could do his work whenever and wherever he wanted. But got him into an absence day? That wasn't what I wanted. I kept looking at him with… I didn't know, an unexplained adoration?

"What?" he asked, chuckling as he realizing that my eyes were straight looked at his face. I shook my head then started to eat the food that he cooked for me.

**OOO**

"Wait, wait, wait. What was that?" he asked, kept looking at the TV as the movie credits began to scroll up.

"That was… that." I giggled, not knowing what words I would use to answer him.

"So there is a new psycho? And he is ready to kidnap some girls then kill all of them?" he asked me confusedly. "What a bitch." he added then laughed, throwing his gaze to me then back to the TV.

"I just hope those movie stars aren't psycho." I said, laughing with him.

"They better not." he answered. "Damn. This psycho movie gives million births of new psychos."

"I agree with you." I nodded, giving him a high five. "You want to watch another movie?" I asked, preparing myself to pick the new title.

"No." he answered as he shook his head. "Well since it is still 4 PM, can we just talk?"

"Sure." I reached the remote then turned the TV off. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything." he answered, shrugging. Then something suddenly popped up in my mind.

"Umm… May I ask you something first?" I asked uncertainly.

"Sure." he answered.

"I met someone at the auction party and she said that she knows about the Salvatore brothers. Do you have any idea about her?" I bit my lower lip. I shouldn't have asked this because his face was somewhat angry, surprised and… confused.

"How does she look like?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. I didn't like that view. The furrowed eyebrows Stefan was looking a little bit arrogant.

"Well she is gorgeous with her blond hair and has Australian accent. Or British I don't know."

"Australian." he corrected.

I sighed disappointedly. "You knew her?"

"She was my college friend but she became my rival since we have the same kind of business." He explained without releasing those furrowed eyebrows on his face.

"Nothing romantic?" I asked again, realizing that I crossed the line. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that."

He chuckled. "Nothing romantic. Ever." he clarified. "Her name is Rebekah Mikaelson. She is the most manipulative and sly person I've ever met." he informed me. "Stay away from her, Elena. She's not good."

"I'm sure she is pretty obsessed about you though." my tongue slipped.

"What else did she say to you?" he asked, becoming more concerned.

"Nothing."

"If I didn't know you since you were 5, I wouldn't think more about it." he told me. "Seriously, Elena. What else?"

_Oh God I really hate this situation._ "She told me to stay away from you." I told him.

"Why?" he asked, more confused.

"Because she thought that you are hers."

He groaned with his O-shaped mouth. "You don't believe her, do you?"

"No, no. Of course not." I shook my head quickly. "If she was your girlfriend, you would've told me a long time ago." I answered, secretly thanking God and feeling relieved.

"Good." he smiled. "Please do not ever believe whatever she says. I told you, she is very manipulative."

"Yes, Sir." then we both laughed. At least I was… happy to know that he wasn't _hers_ just like she said.

"Now it's my turn to ask you." he suddenly said, moving his head a little to look at me more clearly. I gulped, feeling nervous all of sudden. What was he going to ask?

"I knew you were pretty drunk last night, but… Did, did you mean what you said to me?"

_Crap. What did I say? I don't remember anything._

He patiently waited for me as he kept looking at me. _What am I supposed to say now?_

"You don't remember that?" he asked, clearly disappointed.

I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly. _What did I say? What did I say? Wait._ _Did I tell him that I… I like him?_

"That's okay though. Maybe next time." he said quickly, pulling me out of my bubble.

"Can you tell me what did I tell you last night?" I asked back bravely, opening my eyes then looking at him. I needed to know what I did say to him so I could answer his question.

He looked at me a little bit surprised. _What, did I say something wrong again?_

"Stefan, tell me." I said, forcing him now.

He sighed before answered. "You told me that you like me, E."

_Errr, okay. _

_I am officially dead now._

**A/N : Yeay finally an update! Thank you for keep supporting and waiting for me to update. You know, college is still the biggest reason I got writersblock. But anyway, I hope I didn't disappoint you. Thank you for reading! :D**


End file.
